Oral administration of putrescine and proline during the suckling period improves epithelial restitution after early weaning in piglets

Polyamines are necessary for normal integrity and the restitution after injury of the gastrointestinal epithelium. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of oral administration of putrescine and proline during the suckling period on epithelial restitution after early weaning in piglets. Eighteen neonatal piglets (Duroc × Landrace × Large Yorkshire) from 3 litters (6 piglets per litter) were assigned to 3 groups, representing oral administration with an equal volume of saline (control), putrescine (5 mg/kg BW), and proline (25 mg/kg BW) twice daily from d 1 to weaning at 14 d of age. Plasma and intestinal samples were obtained 3 d after weaning. The results showed that oral administration of putrescine or proline increased the final BW and ADG of piglets compared with the control (P < 0.05). Proline treatment decreased plasma D-lactate concentration but increased the villus height in the jejunum and ileum, as well as the percentage of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) positive cells and alkaline phosphatase (AKP) activity in the jejunal mucosa (P < 0.05). The protein expressions for zonula occludens (ZO-1), occludin, and claudin-3 (P < 0.05) but not mRNA were increased in the jejunum of putrescine- and proline-treated piglets compared with those of control piglets. The voltage-gated K+ channel (Kv) 1.1 protein expression in the jejunum of piglets administrated with putrescine and the Kv1.5 mRNA and Kv1.1 protein levels in the ileum of piglets administrated with proline were greater than those in control piglets (P < 0.05). These findings indicate that polyamine or its precursor could improve mucosal proliferation, intestinal morphology, as well as tight junction and potassium channel protein expressions in early-weaned piglets, with implications for epithelial restitution and barrier function after stress injury.

Mesenchymal stem cells and their secreted molecules predominantly ameliorate fulminant hepatic failure and chronic liver fibrosis in mice respectively

BACKGROUND

Orthotopic liver transplantation is the only effective treatment for liver failure but limited with shortage of available donor organs. Recent studies show promising results of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)-based therapies.

METHODS

We systematically investigate the therapeutic effects of MSCs or MSC-conditioned medium (MSC-CM) in ameliorating fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) and chronic liver fibrosis in mice. In addition, extensive flow cytometry analysis of spleens from vehicle and MSC- and MSC-CM-treated mice was applied to reveal the alteration of inflammatory state.

RESULTS

In FHF model, MSCs treatment reduced remarkably the death incidents; the analysis of gross histopathology showed that control livers were soft and shrunken with extensive extravasated blood, which was gradually reduced at later time points, while MSC-treated livers showed gross pathological changes, even 24 h after MSC infusion, and hematoxylin and eosin staining revealed dramatical hepatocellular death with cytoplasmic vacuolization suppressed by MSCs treatment; flow cytometry analysis of total lymphocytes showed that macrophages (F4/80) infiltrated into control livers more than MSC-treated livers; by contrast, MSC-CM partially ameliorates FHF. In chronic liver injury model, MSC and MSC-CM both suppressed fibrogenesis and necroinflammatory, and the later was better; activation of hepatic stellate cells (α-SMA) was inhibited; glycogen synthesis and storage (indicated by periodic acid-Schiff -staining) was improved; liver regeneration (Ki67) was promoted while liver apoptosis (TUNEL) was reduced. In the in vitro, MSCs promote macrophage line RAW264.7 apoptosis and MSC-CM promotes apoptosis and inhibits proliferation of HSC line LX-2. We also found that MSCs and MSC-CM could improve spleen; MSC-CM increased levels of Th2 and Treg cells, and reduced levels of Th17 cells, whereas levels of Th1 cells were unchanged; comparatively, MSC treatment did not affect Th17 and Treg cells and only slightly alters inflammatory state; MSC and MSC-CM treatment both substantially down-regulated macrophages in the spleens.

CONCLUSION

Both MSCs and MSC-CM exert therapeutic effects by acting on various key cells during the pathogenesis of FHF and chronic fibrosis, stimulating hepatocyte proliferation and suppressing apoptosis, down-regulating infiltrating macrophages, converting CD4(+) T lymphocyte system into an anti-inflammatory state, and facilitating hepatic stellate cell death.

Oncolytic and immunologic cancer therapy with GM-CSF-armed vaccinia virus of Tian Tan strain Guang9

Targeted oncolytic vaccinia viruses are being developed as a novel strategy in cancer therapy. Arming vaccinia viruses with immunostimulatory cytokines can enhance antitumor efficacy. Such engineered oncolytic viruses, like JX-594, a Wyeth strain vaccinia virus modified with human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), have shown promising results and have proceeded rapidly in clinical trials. However, the oncolytic potential of the Chinese vaccine strain Tian Tan (VTT) has not been explored. In this study, we constructed a targeted oncolytic vaccinia virus of Tian Tan strain Guang9 (VG9) expressing murine GM-CSF (VG9-GMCSF) and evaluated the antitumor effect of this recombinant vaccinia virus in a murine melanoma model. In vitro, viral replication and cytotoxicity of VG9-GMCSF was as potent as VG9; in vivo, VG9-GMCSF significantly inhibited the growth of subcutaneously implanted melanoma tumors, prolonged the survival of tumor-bearing mice, and produced an antitumor cytotoxic response. Such antitumor effect may be due to the lytic nature of virus as well as the stimulation of immune activity by GM-CSF production. Our results indicate that VG9-GMCSF induces strong tumoricidal activity, providing a potential therapeutic strategy for combating cancer.

Impact of immune response on the use of iPSCs in disease modeling

It has been demonstrated that mouse and human somatic cells can be reprogrammed into an embryonic stem cell-like state by introducing combinations of the transcription factors. The generation of such induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) has enabled the derivation of disease-specific pluripotent cells which opens up new avenues of disease modeling and provides valuable experimental platforms. Moreover, technologies for creating humanized animal models by human iPSCs will be available as well, which will increase the utility of humanized mice for research. Emerging evidences suggest, however, that immunogenicity of iPSCs seems to be a vital and controversial issue surrounding potential of iPSCs. Recent studies on induced multipotent progenitor cells (iMPCs) extend the applications of iPSC technology and provide promising candidates for disease modeling. In this review, we introduce a wide range of applications of iPSCs in disease modeling and discuss the immune response on the use of iPSCs as well as a promising alternative for future directions of disease modeling.

Adiponectin-derived active peptide ADP355 exerts anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic activities in thioacetamide-induced liver injury

Adiponectin is an adipocyte-derived circulating protein with beneficial effects on injured livers. Adiponectin-deficient (adipo(−/−)) mice develop enhanced liver fibrosis, suggesting that adiponectin could be a therapeutic target for liver injury. In the present study, we investigated the protective role of ADP355, an adiponectin-based active short peptide, in thioacetamide (TAA)-induced acute injury and chronic liver fibrosis in mice. ADP355 remarkably reduced TAA-induced necroinflammation and liver fibrosis. ADP355 treatment increased liver glycogen, decreased serum alanine transaminase and alkaline phosphatase activity, and promoted body weight gain, hyper-proliferation and hypo-apoptosis. In addition, ADP355 administration suppressed the TAA-induced activation of hepatic stellate cells and macrophages in the liver. These were associated with the inactivation of TGF-β1/SMAD2 signaling and the promotion of AMPK and STAT3 signaling. Sensitivity of adipo(−/−) mice to chronic liver injury was decreased with ADP355. In conclusion, ADP355 could mimic adiponectin’s action and may be suitable for the preclinical or clinical therapy of chronic liver injury.

Predicting GHS toxicity using RTCA and discrete-time Fourier transform

In order to promote the acceptance of cell-based toxicity testings, the accuracy of cytotoxicity test must be determined when compared to in vivo results. Traditional methods of cytotoxicity analysis, such as LC[Formula: see text] (concentration where 50% of the cells are killed) can be problematic since they have been found to vary with time. Technological advances in cytotoxicity testing make it easy to record the dynamic data on changes in cell proliferation, morphology, and damage. To effectively and reasonably analyze the dynamic data, we present a new in vitro toxicity assessed method using the discrete-time Fourier transform (DTFT) which maps the measured cell index from the time domain to the frequency domain. The direct current (DC) component of the DTFT is extracted as a feature which reflects the intensity of cytotoxicity. The smaller the value, the higher the cytotoxicity. Then, a novel toxicity index, as expressed in terms of DC[Formula: see text], is calculated. Results generated with selected test chemicals are compared favorably with data obtained from The Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Method (ICCVAM) report concerning the prediction of acute systemic toxicity in rodents. The method can be applied with the standard and high throughput to estimate acute rodent oral toxicity which reduces the number of animals required in subsequent pharmacological/toxicological studies.

Exogenous Estradiol Benzoate Induces Spermatogenesis Disorder through Influencing Apoptosis and Oestrogen Receptor Signalling Pathway

As the exact role for exogenous oestrogen in spermatogenesis is not fully understood, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of estradiol benzoate (EB) exposure to male mice on their spermatogenesis and fertility. Sixty male mice aged 4 weeks were randomly divided into three groups, including a control group and two treatment groups. The mice of the control group were injected with 250 μl paraffin oil only by every other day subcutaneous injection for 4 weeks. Meantime, the mice of the treatment groups were injected with EB at the concentration of 5 or 10 mg/kg, respectively. Results showed that EB slowed down the body weight gains and generated testicular atrophy with spermatogenesis disorder compared with that of the control mice, and consequently induced their infertility. Moreover, the number of TUNEL-positive cells in the testis of EB-treated mice was significantly increased with the EB concentration rise. In comparison with controls, the mRNA expression level of pro-apoptosis factors (Fas, TNF, Cytochrome C, Apaf1, Chop, Caspase-3, Caspase-8, Caspase-9 and Caspase-12) and key genes in oestrogen receptor (ER) signalling pathway (ER α, ER β, Erk1/2, Hsp90 and DAX-1) were upregulated in the testes of the treatment groups. Furthermore, Western blotting results proved the protein expression level of Fas, TNF, Cytochrome C, Chop, Caspase-3, cleaved Caspase-3, Caspase-9, Erk1/2 and Hsp90 were upregulated, and the phosphorylation level of Erk1/2 was also increased. These results indicate that EB may impair spermatogenesis through influencing the apoptosis and ER signalling pathway.

Assessing the pollution risk of soil Chromium based on loading capacity of paddy soil at a regional scale

The accumulation of a trace metal in rice grain is not only affected by the total concentration of the soil trace metal, but also by crop variety and related soil properties, such as soil pH, soil organic matter (SOM) and so on. However, these factors were seldom considered in previous studies on mapping the pollution risk of trace metals in paddy soil at a regional scale. In this study, the spatial nonstationary relationships between rice-Cr and a set of perceived soil properties (soil-Cr, soil pH and SOM) were explored using geographically weighted regression; and the relationships were then used for calculating the critical threshold (CT) of soil-Cr concentration that may ensure the concentration of rice-Cr being below the permissible limit. The concept of “loading capacity” (LC) for Cr in paddy soil was then defined as the difference between the CT and the real concentration of Cr in paddy soil, so as to map the pollution risk of soil-Cr to rice grain and assess the risk areas in Jiaxing city, China. Compared with the information of the concentration of the total soil-Cr, such results are more valuable for spatial decision making in reducing the accumulation of rice-Cr at a regional scale.

Observation of Transverse Spin-Dependent Azimuthal Correlations of Charged Pion Pairs in p^{↑}+p at sqrt[s]=200 GeV

We report the observation of transverse polarization-dependent azimuthal correlations in charged pion pair production with the STAR experiment in p^{↑}+p collisions at RHIC. These correlations directly probe quark transversity distributions. We measure signals in excess of 5 standard deviations at high transverse momenta, at high pseudorapidities η>0.5, and for pair masses around the mass of the ρ meson. This is the first direct transversity measurement in p+p collisions.

Prognostic role of microRNA-100 in patients with bladder cancer

We investigated the clinical significance and prognostic value of microRNA-100 (miR-100) in bladder cancer. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to analyze the expression of miR-100 in 92 pairs of human bladder cancer and adjacent normal tissue samples. Overall survival (OS) curves were plotted using the Kaplan-Meier method and were evaluated for statistical significance using a log-rank test. The significance of different variables with respect to survival was analyzed using the multivariate Cox proportional hazard model. The miR-100 expression level was significantly lower in bladder cancer tissues than in normal adjacent tissues (mean ± SD: 1.49 ± 0.52 vs 2.79 ± 0.59, P < 0.05). A low miR-100 expression level was correlated with tumor stage (P = 0.023), tumor grade (P = 0.031), and regional lymph node involvement (P = 0.16). Kaplan-Meier analysis with log-rank test indicated that low miR-100 expression had a significant impact on OS (35.1 vs 75.3%; P = 0.004). Multivariate analysis revealed that the miR-100 expression level was an independent prognostic factor for OS (HR = 2.768, 95%CI = 1.287-8.992; P = 0.009) in bladder cancer patients. The present study demonstrated that the downregulation of miR-100 was associated with advanced clinical features and poor prognosis for bladder cancer patients, suggesting that miR-100 downregulation may be used as an unfavorable prognostic biomarker in bladder cancer.

Abnormalities of cortical structures in adolescent-onset conduct disorder

BACKGROUND

Converging evidence has revealed both functional and structural abnormalities in adolescents with early-onset conduct disorder (EO-CD). The neurological abnormalities underlying EO-CD may be different from that of adolescent-onset conduct disorder (AO-CD) patients. However, the cortical structure in AO-CD patients remains largely unknown. The aim of the present study was to investigate the cortical alterations in AO-CD patients.

METHOD

We investigated T1-weighted brain images from AO-CD patients and age-, gender- and intelligence quotient-matched controls. Cortical structures including thickness, folding and surface area were measured using the surface-based morphometric method. Furthermore, we assessed impulsivity and antisocial symptoms using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS) and the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD).

RESULTS

Compared with the controls, we found significant cortical thinning in the paralimbic system in AO-CD patients. For the first time, we observed cortical thinning in the precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) in AO-CD patients which has not been reported in EO-CD patients. Prominent folding abnormalities were found in the paralimbic structures and frontal cortex while diminished surface areas were shown in the precentral and inferior temporal cortex. Furthermore, cortical thickness of the paralimbic structures was found to be negatively correlated with impulsivity and antisocial behaviors measured by the BIS and APSD, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study indicates that AO-CD is characterized by cortical structural abnormalities in the paralimbic system, and, in particular, we highlight the potential role of deficient structures including the precuneus and PCC in the etiology of AO-CD.

Azimuthal Anisotropy in U+U and Au+Au Collisions at RHIC

Collisions between prolate uranium nuclei are used to study how particle production and azimuthal anisotropies depend on initial geometry in heavy-ion collisions. We report the two- and four-particle cumulants, v_{2}{2} and v_{2}{4}, for charged hadrons from U+U collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=193  GeV and Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200  GeV. Nearly fully overlapping collisions are selected based on the energy deposited by spectators in zero degree calorimeters (ZDCs). Within this sample, the observed dependence of v_{2}{2} on multiplicity demonstrates that ZDC information combined with multiplicity can preferentially select different overlap configurations in U+U collisions. We also show that v_{2} vs multiplicity can be better described by models, such as gluon saturation or quark participant models, that eliminate the dependence of the multiplicity on the number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions.

Randomised clinical study: discrepancies between patient-reported outcomes and endoscopic appearance in moderate to severe ulcerative colitis

BACKGROUND

Associations between patient-reported outcomes and mucosal healing have not been established in ulcerative colitis (UC).

AIM

To evaluate relationships of rectal bleeding and stool frequency with mucosal healing and quality of life (QoL) in patients with UC in two Phase 3 studies (ULTRA 1 and 2).

METHODS

Associations of patient-reported rectal bleeding and stool frequency subscores with mucosal healing (Mayo endoscopy subscore = 0 or 0/1) and QoL [inflammatory bowel disease questionnaire (IBDQ)] were assessed in adalimumab-randomised patients (160/80 mg at Weeks 0/2 followed by 40 mg biweekly or weekly) at Weeks 8 (n = 433) and 52 (n = 299), and in patients with mucosal healing [endoscopy subscore = 0 (n = 17); 0/1 (n = 52)] at Weeks 8 and 52.

RESULTS

At Week 8, the positive predictive values (PPVs) of rectal bleeding subscore = 0, stool frequency subscore = 0 or both scores = 0 for endoscopy subscore = 0/1 were 69%, 84% and 90% respectively; all proportions increased at Week 52. Equivalent PPVs for these subscores in patients with endoscopy subscore = 0 were 26%, 37% and 46% respectively. Among patients with endoscopy subscore = 0 at Week 8, 87% reported no rectal bleeding, while only 29% reported normal stool frequency; these proportions had increased to 94% and 41% respectively, at Week 52. Among patients with mucosal healing, IBDQ scores trended highest for patients with both rectal bleeding and stool frequency subscores = 0.

CONCLUSIONS

Absence of rectal bleeding and normal stool frequency are often predictive of mucosal healing and QoL, but complete normalisation of stool frequency is encountered rarely in patients with mucosal healing.

Spinor Condensates on a Cylindrical Surface in Synthetic Gauge Fields

We show that by modifying the setup of the recent experiment that creates a "Dirac string" one can engineer a quasi-2D spinor Bose-Einstein condensate on a cylindrical surface, with a synthetic magnetic field normal to the surface. Because of the muticonnectivity of the surface, there are two types of vortices (called A and B) with the same vorticity. This is very different from the planar case, which only has one kind of vortex for fixed circulation. As the strength of the synthetic gauge field increases, the ground states will form a necklace of alternating AB vortices surrounding the lateral midpoint of the cylinder, and will split into two A and B necklaces at higher synthetic gauge fields. The fact that even the basic vortex structure of a Bose-Einstein condensate is altered in a cylindrical surface implies that richer phenomena are in store for quantum gases in other curved surfaces.

Undoped accumulation-mode Si/SiGe quantum dots

We report on a quantum dot device design that combines the low disorder properties of undoped SiGe heterostructure materials with an overlapping gate stack in which each electrostatic gate has a dominant and unique function-control of individual quantum dot occupancies and of lateral tunneling into and between dots. Control of the tunneling rate between a dot and an electron bath is demonstrated over more than nine orders of magnitude and independently confirmed by direct measurement within the bandwidth of our amplifiers. The inter-dot tunnel coupling at the [Formula: see text] charge configuration anti-crossing is directly measured to quantify the control of a single inter-dot tunnel barrier gate. A simple exponential dependence is sufficient to describe each of these tunneling processes as a function of the controlling gate voltage.

The effects of nerve growth factor on endothelial cells seeded on different titanium surfaces

Angiogenesis is critical for peri-implant bone regeneration and osseointegration. Endothelial cells (ECs) play an important role in angiogenesis during the early stage of bone formation. Nerve growth factor (NGF) is also reported to function as an angiogenic growth factor. The effects of NGF on ECs seeded on titanium surfaces are unclear. This study was done to investigate the influence of NGF on peri-implant angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo. We used two different titanium surfaces. ECs seeded on these surfaces were treated with indicated concentrations of NGF or vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Proliferation, differentiation, morphological features, and amounts attached were assessed. Chicken embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) was adopted to evaluate the effect of NGF in vivo. The results showed that NGF could promote EC proliferation on both titanium surfaces (F1d=2.083, P=0.156; F3d=30.857, P=0.0002; F5d=4.440, P=0.041; F7d=11.065, P=0.001). NGF and the SLA surface upregulated mRNA of NGF, TrkA, and p75 expression (FNGF=11.941, P=0.003; FTrkA=28.514, P=0.004; Fp75=7.725, P=0.01). In vivo, the supernatants of the NGF-treated group could promote neovascularization in CAM (F=17.662, P=0.009). This study demonstrated that NGF could enhance EC proliferation, gene expression on different titanium surfaces, and neovascularization in CAM. This provides novel information in relation to the promotion of early dental implant osseointegration.